OoT. 83, 1891.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



27S 



is very destructive to whiteflsh, as are also pickerel and 

 trotJt. Ten years ago a great number of pickerel were 

 caught in the Soo Eiver and a very few whitefish. 

 Most all the pickerel are now caught, there being very 

 few left, and the whitefish have returned in good num- 

 bers. 



A great many fish, especially bass, are caught in Mud 

 Lake and" S JO River in the samuier sea^oa by vifiitors. 

 They troll, using minnows, ci'awfisb, worms, grass- 

 hoppers, etc. The principal food for trout in the Soo 

 River is small fish; for whitefish, the snail and whitefish 

 ■worm. The bottom of tlie Soo is mud, s-and and gravel, 

 Hat reck. etc. Sturgeon are caught, and a great many 

 trout eggs are found in their intestines during the spa \v'n- 

 ing seasou. Oa the Canadian side thev do not allow anj' 

 kind of fishing from Nov. i until Dec. 1, during the 

 epawning season. On the American side fiahins is 

 Cdrried on at all times, there being no restrictions. The 

 fishing in the Soo has been decreasing for several years 

 past. 



Lake Winnebago, Wis., is a beautiful sheet of water 

 about 36 by 13 miles, with an average depth of from 30 to 

 40ft. : bottoin rocky and gravelly, also a good deal of nuid. 

 Along the Fox River, which is 'an outlet of the lake into 

 Green Bay, there are about 12 dams, a great number of 

 small fisb going over the damp, but none are able to 

 return, as there are no fish ways. All fishermen and 

 sportsmen claim that fishways would be a great benefit, 

 as the fish would then be on the increase instead of de- 

 creasing as the case is now, and has been for years. The 

 lake is fed by Fox and Wolf rivers and numerous small 

 streams and lakes. 



John Roberts and Otte Jorgensen, of Neenah and Men- 

 asha, have beautiful places bordering on the lake; they 

 also have a complete outfit of fishing tackle of all descrip- 

 tions, together with fifteen or twenty boats. They em- 

 ploy guides who are expert oarsmen and fishermen to 

 accompany sportsmen who visit them every season from 

 all parts of the country. A great many small-mouth 

 black bass are taken by the anglers, also wall eyed pike, 

 silver bass, mooneye, or fresh-water shad or herring, 

 which is caught with the flv. For black bass the com- 

 mon shiner or a spoon is used. The largest black bass 

 that has been caught in the lake weighed oibs. 2oz. The 

 different clubs have offered a reward' of $100 to any one 

 catching a Gibs, bass. 



The mooneyes are never taken before June; they are 

 caught for six weeks and then disappear. The largest 

 pickerel ever caught in the lake weighed I61bs. The 

 pickerel are very destructive to young fish, one having 

 been t aught in Fox River with thirty-five small speckled 

 perch and shiners in him. The losli is another great 

 destroyer of young fish. Pounds, gill-nets, fyke-nets and 

 trammel-nets are used in the lake, very few of the latter 

 are used. It is claimed that a great deal of nefc-fishing ia 

 carried on out of season, which is proved by the number 

 of arrests that w^ere and are being made by Mr. C. E. 

 Lucas, fish warden, Fond du Lac, and the great number 

 of nets destroyed. Cuff, 

 Washington, D. 0. 



TAPEWORM IN TROUT. 



DURING the course of his explorations in the Yellow- 

 stone National Park, Dr. Jordan collected a lob of 

 intestinal parasites from the trout of Yellowstone River 

 and suckers of Witch Creek. The trout parasites ap- 

 peared first in cysts among the casca at the hind end of 

 the stomach, later in the liver and viscera, and finally in 

 the flesh of the belly, where they reach a lengtb of five 

 inches. In lakes partly fed by geyser water all the trout 

 contained worms. About one-quarter of the suckers 

 which abound in waters as warm as 80" or more are 

 wormy, and the parasites often exceed one foot in length 

 in the abdominal cavity. 



These parasites were sent by Commissioner McDonald 

 to Prof. Edwin Linton for study, and the report upon 

 them was recently published in the Bulletin of the Com- 

 mission. The subjrct was of so great interest that in the 

 summer of 1890 the Commissioner requested Prof. Linton 

 to join with Prof. S. A. Forbss of Idinois in the investi- 

 gation of the life of the Park, the work of Prof. Linton 

 to have especial reference to the cause of parasitism in 

 Yellowstone Lake trout. The report upon the latter sub- 

 ject has appeared in the Bulletin. The trout worms were 

 first mentioned in Hayden's Report on Montana and 

 Adjacent Territory for 1871, and were again dipcusaed in 

 reports by Bradly (1872) and Capt. Jones (1873). Dr. 

 Leidy described the species as Dihothrium cordiceps. 

 Prof. Linton found the larvaj ' ' either in cysts among or 

 on the viscera of its host, the trout {Salmo myJciss); free, 

 on or among the viscera; beneath the peritonea Llining 

 of the abdominal cavity ; or burrowing in the muscular 

 tissue of the body--walL" " This parasite occurs, so far as 

 known, only in the Rocky Mountain trout. I have found 

 it in the trout of Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone River 

 above the lower falls, and in Heart Lake. I did not suc- 

 ceed in getting any fish from below the lower falls for 

 examination. I am told, however, that wormy trout are 

 never found in the river below the falls. It is very prob- 

 able, however, if careful search were made for them, 

 that an occasional trout in the river and its tributaries 

 below the lower falls would be found with cysts of this 

 parasite. At the Grand Canon Hotel I examined some 

 trout which were said to have been caught below the 

 upper falls, and found one with cysts in the abdominal 

 cavity and a large larva among the abdominal muscles. 

 In Heart Lake I found the trout not infrequently infested 

 with this parasite, occurring in cysts and free on and 

 among the viscera, but not among the muscles. Dr. Jor- 

 dan reports that the trout of Riddle Lake, which drains 

 through Solution Creek into Yellowstone Lake, are ap- 

 parently free from parasites. It may be that this conclu- 

 sion would have to be abandoned if an examination were 

 made of several of the large trout of that lake." 



Prof. Linton found a number of parasites of other 

 kinds in the trout. Sp^nt females were usually found to 

 be most seriously affected. The source of the infection 

 is_ believed to continue during several months. Prof. 

 Linton believes that the worms are not injurious to man, 

 except as their presence makes the fish distasteful to the 

 palate. Parasites are extremely common in fishes, but 

 as a rule they do not live in man, and their vitality is de- 

 stroyed by cooking. 



The adult staee of the trout tapeworm was found in the 

 white pelican {Pelecanvs erythrorhynchus). In this ho^t 

 the life history of the parasite is completed, and the prob- 

 able cause of the wormy trout is found by Prof. Linton 



in the wormy pelican. In the'case of similar worms in- 

 festing European fresh-water fishes the migrations have 

 been made out as follows : ■* The eggs develop in the 

 water, where they give rise to ciliated embryos, which 

 bear a close resemhlance to ciliate infusoria. Tfaf f e oa?8 

 into fishes, * * * where they become estabhfhel in 

 the peritoneal cavity. The round of life is completed in 

 ihe intestines of aquatic birds, where the eggs are rapidly 

 formed." 



One of the remedies proposed for this parasitism of the 

 trout is the pxtermination of the pelican— a measure 

 which Prnf. Linton considers unnecessary and inadvis- 

 able. Ue believes that the increase of visitors will lead 

 to a reduction of the number of deceased trout, particu- 

 larly if the dead fish are not left on the shore or thrown 

 into the water. The introduction into Yellowstone Lake 

 of the chub of Heart Lake he thinks would be advan- 

 tageous, since the parasite does not develop in the chub, 

 and this fish would furnish healthy food both for the 

 trout and the pelican, "and with fewer pai-asites in the 

 pelican would go a diminution in the number of ova dis- 

 seminated in the water, and consequently a lessening of 

 parasitism in t he trout." 



FISH OF THE MACKENZIE BASIN. 



THROUGH the courtesy of Dr. G. Brown Goode we are 

 able to present some extracts from the answers of 

 Robert MacFat lane, Chief li'actor of the Hudson's Biy 

 Company at Fort St, James, B. C, to Senatorial queries 

 concerning the resources of the Great Mackenzie Basin. 

 The important statement as to the absence of salmon in 

 Mackenzie River will caitse surprise, since Pacific salmon 

 are known to occur in Arctic rivers west of the Macken- 

 zie, and have been reported also to the eastAvard. We 

 expected to hear that the inconnu occurs in the Mac- 

 kenzie, as it abounds in large Alaskan rivers and is not 

 anadromous. Coming from an authority like MacFar- 

 lane these facts will be extremely valuable to ichthyolo- 

 gists, 



Fish of Lalce Athabasca. — Trout, pike, pickerel, methy 

 and whitefidh abound throughout the lake; but I have 

 heard it btated that since the steamer Qrahame began to 

 jjiy in the vicinity of the fisheries of the post and mis- 

 sions neaj- Fort Chipewyan, as well as on Quatrc Fourches 

 River, the annual catch of fish has pei ceptibly dimin- 

 ished. 



Fish of Great Slave Lake. — ^Tlie trout and whitefish are 

 somewhat larger and of rather better quality than those 

 of Lake Athabasca. The inconnu (Stenodus mackenzii) 

 abounds in this lake, and also in the Mackenzie and in 

 the Slave River to the foot of the ''Rapids of the Drowned," 

 one mile above Fort Smith. Its flesh is much inferior to 

 that of the true salmon; but when taken on the lower 

 Mackenzie and Anderson rivers it is firm and rich, but 

 still less palatable than good whitefish. 



Fish of Great Bear Lake.— I have never been to Great 

 Bear Lake, but 1 know that excellent trout, whitefish 

 and other northern fish are to be had in plenty in its 

 waters. The fresh- water herring {Coregomis lucidMs) 

 also aboimds, it is similar to that of the Mackenzie and 

 equally fine. While a resident of Fort Simpson, Mac- 

 kenzie River district, we received in March, 18G7, a large 

 and splendid trout, weighing, I think, TOlbs., which had 

 shortly before been caught in Bear Lake, east of old 

 Fort Franklin. The lake is very deep and clear, and 

 ice is said to be seldom wholly absent thereon for much 

 more than two months out of the twelve. 



Various Lakes of the Mackenzie Basin.— A thorough 

 exploration of the Mackenzie Basin would probably de- 

 termine the existence of more than one sheet of water, 

 whose area would fully equal that of Lesser Slave Lake. 

 The Simpson, Petitot and Colville lying to the north of 

 Great Bear Lake; the Pio Nono and Tache on the west 

 side thereof, and Lake La Martre to the northwest of 

 Great Slave Lake and many of a lesser size, besides those 

 laid down on maps, all contain trout, whitefish, jack and 

 other fish. During winter and also other periods of the 

 season numbers of Indians find subsistence in these 

 waters, as well as on many of the rivers and sti-eams 

 which, among other fish, also contain lots ol j^oisson bleu 

 (Back's grayling) of various sizes, and on a few of the 

 former the Hudson's Bay Company sometimes establish 

 fisheries to supplement the food requirements of their 

 northern trade posts. Scarcely any of those lakes, how- 

 ever, are accessible by eteam, owing to the obstructions 

 in the rivers, which connect several of them with the 

 great lines of communication with southern Canada. 



The best and most generally diffused fish throughout 

 the numerous lakes and rivers of the Mackenzie Basin 

 is the whitefish, and it is quite plentiful, especially in the 

 Athabasca, Great Slave and Great Bear lakes. In weight 

 in these waters it ranges between 2 and 41b&,, but on some 

 of the lesser, and indeed in several of the smallest fish 

 lakes of the far North, a few are met with which attain 

 to 5, 6 and 7lbs. and upward, and the flesh is excellent. 

 Trout of a large size (7 to oOlos.) abound in the greater, 

 but they are of lesser weight (5 to 251bs.) on the smaller 

 lakes. Several speckled trout have been caught on the 

 lowsr Anderson River. Jackfish of various sizes are 

 plentiful on most of the lakes, and on Clear Lake, which 

 with Lac Manmrawee are but a continuation of the west- 

 ern end of Lake Athabasca, they often weigh as much as 

 30, 35 and SOlbs. Carp, dore, ioche and suckers are pres- 

 ent on all the larger lakes, as well as in most of the 

 smaller sheets of water. The fresh-water herring is 

 abundant in Great Bear Lake and also in the lower Mac- 

 kenzie River, and some were obtained by us on the 

 Anderson River. This is also a fish of fine quality and 

 weighs about Slbs. The Loucheux and ilare Indians 

 catch in nets and dry a large quantity in summer for 

 winter use. Some are also thus secured at Fort Norman, 

 while a few are caught up as high as Fort Simpson; the 

 best are, however, taken on the lower Mackenzie. Back's 

 grayling, or poisson bleu, abounds in many of the streams 

 falling into the Anderson and Mackenzie, as well as in 

 many others throughout these regions, where it is fre- 

 quently met with in various stages of growth, from 2oz. 

 to matm-ity at 21b3, The inconnu, as already mentioned, 

 is numerous in the Mackenzie, in Great Slave Lake and 

 in the Slave River to Fort Smith, It is also plentiful in 

 the Anderson, which is known to the Indians as the river 

 of the toothlefa (inconnu) fish. The largest specimen of 

 this fish I ever saw was taken on the Anderson River 

 within forty miles of its outlet in Liverpool Bay; I should 

 say it would "have weighed about 50 or 60ibs.; its fiesh 

 was white, firm and oily. Tfaei-e are no true salmon in 

 the Anderson or Mackenzie rivers, and yet in most of the 



Arctic streams to the westward of the latter and to the 

 eastward of the former they are said to be very abund- 

 ant. 



The Esquimaux who used to frequent Fort Anderson 

 succeeded most seasons in killing one, but seldom as 

 many as two, large-sized whales, which proved of im- 

 mense value to them as an article of food. They band 

 together and hunt it in the number described 'by Dr. 

 Richardson in his Boat Expedition. Seals, walruses and 

 water fowl are also taken by the E'^quimaux in the way 

 mentioned in the volume. On my first visit to Franklin 

 Bay, on June 'Z^, 1863, and again about the end of the 

 same month, in 1834, we distinctly heard one or two 

 large whales spouting in a lane of open water which ap- 

 peared amid the ice covered sea. We found Langton 

 Harbor almost entirely free of ice on each of our sum- 

 mer visits. The daily tides and gales of wind materially 

 help to break up the ice of Langton Harbor and Franklin 

 Bay. The former is more deeply indented to the east- 

 ward than a passing boat or vessel would be able to 

 notice. Quite a number of seals and walruses were seen 

 basking in the sun on floating as well on stationary fields 

 of ice. 



[The carp above mentioned is probably one of the 

 laige members of the cyprinoid family, of which several 

 genera are known in the Puget Sound region and north- 

 ward; it would be interesting to know what fish is meant. 

 The loche is our burbot {JLota, maculosa). The dore is 

 pike-perch. The occurrence of pike is known, but we 

 liave not heard of pickerel in the region except as an- 

 other name for the dore.] 



THE COMMODORE CLUB. 



AT the outing of the Commodore Club, at its beautiful 

 club house on Harmony Lake, Maine, there were 

 some twenty-two members and invited guests present. 

 Among these gentlemen were Mr. John G. Wright, of the 

 Boston wool trade; A, A. Adams, of Boston: Gcu, Hamlin, 

 of Bangor, Me.; W. Bullevant, of the Boston leather trade; 

 Judge W. V. Kellen, Dr. Rowe, Superintendent of the 

 Boston City Hospital; Robeit Moriville, W. F. Lawrence, 

 J, W. Riciier, H. M, Stephenson. W. K. Browne, R. 

 Brown, of Peabody ; W. Shaw, of P'eabody; Mr, Clark, of 

 Peabody; R. B, Howland, of Amesburv; W. Buffington, 

 of Boston; Thomas Walker, of Warren, Me.; H. C. Fuller, 

 of Hartland, Me,; Mr. Coffin, of Stoddard, Lovering & 

 Co., Boston; W. H. Souther, of Boston; Mr. Nelson, of 

 Milfoi-d; Charles Hall, of Boston; Charles Gallagher, of 

 the Boston School Committc' , and Mr. Jacobs, of Pea- 

 body. The well supplied table of the club house was 

 amply supplied with guest?, but as for fresh game and 

 fish from the w^aters of the lake there was a lack of sup- 

 ply. The weather was so warm, and had been so warm 

 all the season, though it was then in the early October 

 dayp, that the black ducks had not begun to come into 

 the ijond, and as for grouse, only a few could be found 

 by the closest hunting. 



Some of the party that was at the club house before the 

 first of October, tried diligently for trout and landlocked 

 salmon in the lake, but the weather was too warm, and 

 but few trout were obtained. But the members of the 

 club are charmed with the location, and they propose to 

 try and help the fishing. They will restock with all the 

 landlocked salmon and trout that they can get. They 

 are strongly in favor of keeping the little fish till old 

 enough to take care of themselves, instead of turning 

 them out the first year, or about as soon as hatched, as 

 has been the case heretofore in many of the waters in 

 Maine. I understand the Maine Fish Commissioners are 

 also in favor of the same policy in the matter of restocking 

 hereafter. It is feared that the fry, turned out as soon 

 as free from the sack, can only fall a prey to other fish, 

 while if they are retained till they are a year old, they 

 will have attained sufficient strength and caution to be 

 able to escape from their enemies. 



Mr. John G. Wright, a prominent member of the Com- 

 modore Club, has fisned during the past year in the 

 famous Loch Leven. in Scotland, and he is a thorough 

 believer in restocking of our lakes and streams with 

 trout and salmon. He says that Loch Leven is only about 

 the size of Harmony Lake, Me., and that each year some 

 28,000 trout are taken out of its waters. The trout taken 

 are all carefully weighed and recorded, and such is the 

 result. Small trout are immediately returned, since 

 nothing but fly-fishing is tolerated, and the fish are not 

 liable to great injury in being hooked. Restocking is 

 w^hat keeps up the fishing in that celebrated lake, and 

 Mr. Wright believes that the same might be done in 

 Maine waters. Commissioner Henry O. Stanley is of the 

 same opinion. Special. 



BASS IN THE ADIRONDACKS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your editorial in this week's issue. ''Shall the Adiron- 

 dacks be Stocked with Ba^s?" is timely; and I shall watch 

 for the answer it is sure to bring forth, as it is a question 

 I am much interested in. With some twenty others I 

 have cottages on the shores of East Canada Lake, fifteen 

 miles north from here, but fully in the Adirondacks. 

 The main lake is some two and a half miles long by half 

 a mile wide and is 165ft. deep for considerable distance: 

 it was a famous salmon lake until ten years ago, when 

 fishing through the ice and rapidly increasing pickerel 

 finished them. Several attempts have been made to stock 

 the lakes with black bass, but with little success. A few 

 have been seen, and two weighing over Slbs. each were 

 caught this past year. There are any number of yellow 

 perch, but they are a nuisance. Three years ago I wrote 

 to Commissioner R. U. Sherman, giving him the particu- 

 lars; and he advised trjing lake trout again, which, with 

 the protection we now give the lake, and its being a deep 

 water fish, be thought would soon stock the lake. There- 

 fore we put 50,000 in June, 1890, and this past spring the 

 same number. But your editorial casting doubt on trsiit 

 being ever successfully planted in pickerel waters makes 

 me anxious to learn what the experience of your 

 readers is. 



I have just filled out application for 60,000 lake fry and 

 frost fish for food fish, but shall not send it on to the sec- 

 retary of the Commission until I see what answers your 

 article brings fr rth. There is no use of our going to 

 further trouble and expense if the experience of those 

 who have tried proves that trout will not live in waters 

 where pickerel have once got g, foothold. 



M, S, NoitTHRUP. 



•TOHNSTOWN, N. Y., Oct. 16. 



